Semper Fidelis
by Muldoon22
Summary: A secret about Barney is revealed during Memorial Day.


_We take time out of our lives to remember those who gave their's to secure us the freedom we so enjoy today. Sometimes we take that for granted. I know I do sometimes. But in the end, it's always a moving sight to see the descendants of those lost in the wars of the past and present._

"Still no answer from Barney." Marshall said, sitting beside Lily and Robin in a taxi. I was sitting in front. We were all headed for the Memorial Day parade. We always attended as a group, so it was odd when Barney didn't answer his phone.

"I think we should go see him." Lily suggested.

"We already are." I replied, as the taxi stopped in front of Barney's apartment. We paid the driver and descended the steps up to his front door. Robin knocked.

"Barney? Are you there?"

She kept knocking for another minute before I pulled out my spare key and unlocked it.

"Barney?" I called as we flooded in.

"In here." he called from his bedroom.

When we walked in, we were shocked at his appearance: he was wearing a US Marine Core dress uniform, decorated in various medals. He was clutching a white cap in his white-gloved hands. "Hi." he said awkwardly.

"No." I said. "Barney, you have used many dastardly methods to pick up chicks, but I refuse to allow you to pose as a veteran to score."

"Who said anything about picking up chicks?" he replied, reaching into the box on his bed and pulling out a photograph and handing it to me. It was him, roughly 24 at the time, before I met him.

"Besides, today's a day of respect. Of honour." his hand froze over another picture in the box. "To remember thy fellow soldier." he said, a hint of sadness in his voice.

"Barney, are you seriously telling us you were in the Army?" Marshall said excitedly.

"Marines, actually." Barney replied. A loud knock sounded from the front door. He slid on the white cap and marched towards the door.

"No fucking way." Robin muttered to herself, as we all stood dumbfounded as Barney answered the door. Two more men dressed like Barney stood there. All three saluted one another.

"Cpl. Lawson. Cpl. Peters."

"Sgt. Maj. Stinson." they replied. "We are ready." Cpl. Lawson looked into the apartment and saw the 4 of us walk towards them. "Are they apart of your party."

Barney looked at us. "Yes. Yes, they are. We should get going."

Barney motioned for us to follow. The two Corporals moved to the side as Barney walked past. They followed after him and we followed after them.

Three slick black cars were parked downstairs. Lawson and Peters each went to one of them and barney opened the backseat to the other. "Ladies first." he gestured to Lily and Robin. They slid in, followed by me and Marshall. Barney chatted for a moment with the driver before hopping in back and the car drove off.

"Ok, Barney, what the hell? You are a Marine?"

"Was. I've was honourably discharged in 2006."

"That's still 5 years after me, Lily and Marshall met you? How come you never told us?"

"I felt it best. It's not something I like telling people. Over in places like Yugoslavia and Iraq, things happened. Things I'd like to try and forget. And it wouldn't be easy if my friends knew."

Barney looked out the window. I never really thought about which wars or conflicts he participated in. And what things did he mean?

Lily piped up. "Why were you honourably discharged?"

"I was shot. Twice in the back." he muttered, to which Lily and Robin stifled gasps.

"And what battles did you participate in?" I asked.

"Kosovo. Iraq. I don't really want to talk about this right now." And we sat in silence for the rest of the ride, though both Robin and Lily both gave Barney admiring looks.

_I guess women do like a man in a uniform_, I thought to myself.

The car stopped and we all filed out. A group of uniformed men saluted Barney. He turned to us.

"I have to go with these guys. But you can go find a spot to view the parade from."

Barney walked away, leaving us once again scrambling to piece together what was happening.

"Ok, I'm still trying to figure this out because I am beyond fucking confused." Marshall blurted out, garnering some glares from nearby vets, to which he apologized.

"Exactly. I mean, how didn't we notice it before? How was he able to slip something like this under our radar?" Robin asked, as we walked down the street.

"Maybe under the guise of all those "foreign business meetings" he had to attend now and then." Lily suggested.

"Likely. I just wish he told us before." I said, finally situating ourselves in a position where we could see the parade with no obstructions blocking our view.

It took 15 minutes before we saw Barney. He was marching in the 7th row of what appeared to be an eternity of Marines. The soldiers on the sides would turn to the crowd and salute. Barney did just that while looking our way. We decided to follow the Marines precession to the parade's end, so we could be there to meet Barney when the Marines disbanded. Mainly to bombard him with questions, but also to support him.

Barney informed us he would be attending a special service and invited us along. Though there were a few readings and tributes, the service was mainly a way to socialize with the families and soldiers. We sat, minus Barney, at a rounded table, where I found myself conversing with the widow of someone who died in combat during the 2001 Invasion of Afghanistan. I couldn't help but note that Barney was standing by the exit, conversing with fellow Marines. But after the Marines left, Barney slipped out the door.

"He's leaving." I informed the others and we soon found ourselves following Barney. He went into the parking lot and entered a blue PT Cruiser. We chased after it until it entered the New York traffic. Desperately needing a vehicle, Ranjit happened to pull up.

"You look like you need a ride." he cheerfully as we piled in. "Follow that PT!" Lily exclaimed.

We followed it as it left Manhattan, then New Jersey, then Philadelphia, then Baltimore and D.C., until we passed a sign marked "Arlington National Cemetery". Barney parked the Cruiser and stepped out, clutching a wreath. We waited until he was a good ways into the plots before following again. He stopped near a set of headstones a few feet from a tree we used as cover. He set the wreath down on the plot and stood straight. Then he began to talk.

"Well, here we are. 15 years later. I guess it's a nice thing that today falls on Memorial Day. I still remember coming here the first time. It was almost as nice out as today. 15 years. Today, my friends found out I was in the Marines. It was something I wanted to keep hidden. I'm not proud of the things I did over there. But I did them because-"

He began choking up a little. "because I wanted to be just like you. Even when I was a kid. When Dad left. But I realized, after you were gone, you provided me that fatherly essence I needed. And when you died, I wanted to honour you, in the only way I knew. To be like you." he began sniffling back tears. "I know. I know. You always said a man doesn't shed a tear, but, today, after my friends saw me, I thought, what if I died tomorrow, and they wouldn't know why. I thought, what if you died and we never knew? I guess that's why Memorial Day exists. To get people to remember."

He wiped his eyes. "How can people only take two days out of their lives to remember what people like you gave up for them? I don't know how. People take that for granted. I know I don't. I live everyday knowing what you did for us, for me, kept this world stable and secure. Maybe for a short while, but you didn't die for nothing."

Barney lowered down on one knee. "I miss you. I miss you everyday." he kissed the headstone and stood back up. He saluted and began to turn back around, when Lily folded her arms around him in a hug. Robin soon followed. Me and Marshall closed in to complete the group hug. We let go and looked at the grave:

**Roger**

**Aaron**

**Stinson**

**Lt.**

**US Marine Corps**

**Jan 5 1966**

**Jan 29 1991**

**1990-1991**

**Saudi Arabia**

"Who was he?" Marshall asked.

"He was my older brother. Killed in the Gulf." Barney replied solemnly.

"I didn't know you had another brother." I said.

"You would have really loved him." he replied, quivering a little.

I patted him on the shoulder.

"Come on, guys. We should get going." Barney said.

And after that day, kids, we made a tradition of visiting your Uncle Barney's brother's grave. Because I felt it stood as a symbol. A symbol that we shouldn't forget. We shouldn't take our freedom for granted. And to remember the men and women who died providing us with that. Food for thought, kids. Food for thought.


End file.
